NEW YORK CITY—Melissa Burch—an EVP of Forest City Ratner Cos. best known as the overseer of the Pacific Park complex—has left the firm to join Lend Lease. In her stead, FCRC has appointed Susi Yu as EVP of residential development.
Burch joins Lend Lease, an international property and infrastructure provider as executive general manager, New York, for the Americas development business. In her new role, Burch is expected to lead and grow the firm's development business here by pursuing and identify development opportunities and large-scale urban regeneration projects throughout the area. She also will support the firm's development efforts nationally.
“Melissa brings a full range of experience in the New York market and has a proven track record of operational success,” says Denis Hickey, CEO Americas, of Lend Lease. “Melissa's extensive knowledge of entitlement, design, construction, marketing, leasing and the execution of complex urban development projects makes her the ideal executive to grow our Development business in New York.”
At Forest City Ratner Cos., Burch presided over the 22 acre development formerly known as Atlantic Yards. It's comprised of the Barclays Center and 8 milliion square feet of new rental and condominium housing, office, retail space, and eight acres of public open space. In addition, she spearheaded various projects throughout the New York City region and supervised the on-going leasing of Forest City Ratner's office and residential operating portfolios.
Meanwhile, Susi Yu joins FCRC from Howard Hughes Corp. where she oversaw phase two of the South Street Seaport redevelopment plan in Lower Manhattan. But Yu is no stranger to Forest City: she left the firm 13 years ago to join Hughes. As an SVP at FCRC, she led the development of 8 Spruce St., a Frank Gehry-designed, 76-story, 1.1 million square foot mixed-use project, and she also worked on the planning for Pacific Park Brooklyn (formerly Atlantic Yards) as well as the development of 15 MetroTech, an office building in Downtown Brooklyn.
Says Yu, “The company is busier than ever, with transformational residential developments underway at Pacific Park Brooklyn and East River Plaza, and I look forward to contributing to the firm's continued success across the city.”
FCRC president and CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin adds, “As we continue to drive our robust residential platform in New York, we are very pleased to have Susi Yu leading the charge. Susi is the consummate residential developer and we are thrilled she has decided to return. We wish Melissa all the best in her exciting new venture.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
